School of Arts and Sciences

Since its founding in 1998, the Tufts Institute of Environment (TIE) has created many opportunities to promote environmental issues. The TIE Talks are a lecture series designed to be a causal, comfortable setting for faculty, staff, students and alumni to learn and share.

On Mar. 7, speaker Mary Davis, assistant professor in the department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, will present on her research involving the relationship between economics and public health. When asked about her inspiration for this connection, Davis responded:

“I started working on a large epidemiologic study at Harvard investigating the connection between exposure to diesel exhaust and lung cancer. Since cancer takes a long time to develop, we needed to understand what exposures looked like in the past before environmental monitoring data were available. So I started looking into filling in the gaps with economic data, with the hypothesis that greater levels of economic activity generate air pollution.”

The theme of this semesters TIE Talks is Environmental Justice. Davis offered her own perspective on this semesters theme:

“For me, the term environmental justice broadly encompasses any group that is disproportionately exposed to environmental harm, especially those without the political clout to effect change.”

Moreover, the TIE Talks create another arena for environment-related discussion. Davis commented on the significance of the TIE Talks:

“I think that the TIE Talks provide an excellent opportunity to bring visibility to environmental issues on campus.”

TIE was started as a result of a growing need for more environmental programs and activities at Tufts. Since then, it has supported numerous research projects and events.Today, TIE continues to build more awareness and attention for environmental research, teaching and leadership.

On Nov. 10, political science lecturer and Fletcher School Ph.D. student Nancy Gleason discussed the main issues going into the 17th conference of the The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Durban, South Africa, Nov. 28-Dec. 9, 2011.

At a ENVS Lunch & Learn on Oct. 6, Anthony Everett, A83, Emmy Award-winning anchor of WCVB-TV Channel 5″s nightly newsmagazine, “Chronicle,” looked at the changes in environmental coverage on the major broadcast networks. See more details on the event and check out our live-tweet archive below:

On Wednesday, April 20, Tufts Dining welcomed nutrition expert and author Keri Glassman, A95, for dinner and a talk on how to “Eat Your Way to Better Health.” (Earlier in the day, she also spoke at the Friedman School.)

Katie Couric was on the Medford/Somerville campus on Apr. 11, to participate in the sixth annual Edward R. Murrow Forum on Issues in Journalism. She drew on her 30 years as a journalist to address the evolution of today’s news industry. Jonathan Tisch, A76 and Tufts trustee, led the discussion before opening the forum to questions from the audience.

The seventh annual $100K Business Plan Competition, sponsored by Tufts Gordon Institute, was held April 6 at the Aidekman Arts Center. The 11 business plan competition finalists pitched their business plans to a panel of judges. Six teams competed in the classic competition, and five in the social entrepreneurship competition. Teams included alumni, graduate and undergraduate students from AS&E and The Fletcher School.

Carroll discussed his most recent book, “Following the Water: A Hydromancer’s Notebook,” which reflects observations of a year’s passage in New Hampshire’s wild wetlands & bordering uplands from thaw in late March through the freezing over at the end of November.

On Feb. 17 at a Friends of Tisch Library Author Talk, Christoph Börgers, Tufts professor of mathematics and author of Mathematics of Social Choice: Voting, Compensation, and Division, discussed the entertaining and easily accessible mathematics of voting, resource sharing, and fair compensation. He explained how the choices made by groups of people with different preferences, interests, and needs impact those outcomes.

This year’s Issue as Muse event takes place March 12, with a non-profit fair (including Not for Sale, Groundwork Somerville, Strong Women Strong Girls Boston, Jobs with Justice, and more) and food at the Sophia Gordon Multipurpose Room at 6:30 p.m. and the performance showcase across the street at Cohen Auditorium at 8:30 p.m. Performers include Spirit of Color, Tufts Kiniwe, B.E.A.T.S., Tufts Tamasha, Anchord, Envy, S-Factor, Tufts Belly Dance and more.

Here is some information about the event, provided by the organizers:

Issue as Muse is an annual, performance-based event that serves to raise awareness about issues of social justice around the world, introduce the Tufts community to different non-profits that are addressing these issues in the Greater Boston Area, and fundraise for the participating nonprofit organizations. Prior to the performance, there is a non-profit fair to allow students, faculty, staff, administrators, and community members to network with local non-profit organizations for future collaboration, volunteer, internship, and job opportunities, as well as to learn more about the organizations and the social justice issues they address.

The event is coordinated by Tufts Social Justice Arts Initiative, which works to incorporate and use the creative arts as a vehicle to advocate for, raise awareness and educate about, and empower those who suffer from social inequities, inequalities, and systemic, institutional, & interpersonal oppression.